| 1 person marked this as FAQ candidate. |
My DM an I got into a discussion today as to whether or not you can change the "Attack" portion of charge into anything except a bull rush. For the purposes of going down the Combat Expertise/Improved Trip/Greater Trip feat tree, I proposed the possibility of trading the "attack" portion of a charge attack for a trip attack.
TLDR;
Can I charge then trip instead of attack?
I have been looking at this for a character I am looking at building and I believe it is to charge or not to charge that is it. A charge is a type of attack and gets the extra multiplier when you use a lance, or if you have spirited charge. So it is a type of direct attack. You can however move to the target and make the attempt without the charge benefits or negatives, or even better a ride by attack would allow you to move past them and trip them along the way, and if you have greater improved trip make an attack of opportunity as well. Improved Overrun, Greater overrun and combat reflexes is also huge on a mount for battlefield control.
I don't know what the raw answer is, but it makes sense. I don't see what the harm is. It is just diving for the legs...My DM an I got into a discussion today as to whether or not you can change the "Attack" portion of charge into anything except a bull rush. For the purposes of going down the Combat Expertise/Improved Trip/Greater Trip feat tree, I proposed the possibility of trading the "attack" portion of a charge attack for a trip attack.
TLDR;
Can I charge then trip instead of attack?
His point was more "A Charge attack is an attack in of itself, and can not be split up into two parts"
Technically I could just move and attack and it's the same thing, the only time it becomes an issue is if I need to move further than my movement speed.
Can I charge then trip instead of attack?
From the SRD, Combat Maneuvers >> Trip: "You can attempt to trip your opponent in place of a melee attack."
Special Attacks >> Charge >> Attacking on a charge: "After moving, you may make a single melee attack. You get a +2 bonus on the attack roll and take a –2 penalty to your AC until the start of your next turn. A charging character gets a +2 bonus on combat maneuver attack rolls made to bull rush an opponent."
Based on the fact that bull rush is specifically called out as an alternative combat maneuver bonus to the normal attack roll bonus, I'd read it strictly to say that, no, a trip cannot be substituted.
From the part where a trip takes the place of a melee attack, though, and from a more common sense application, as a GM I would allow a charge-trip in my game, with the +2 attack / -2 AC modifier applied. (Depending on the refereeing, though, this move may earn you a red card in other games, so dbl-check before trying it.)
The way I interpret the RAW you can use any combat maneuver but gain a bonus if that maneuver is a bull rush. So you don't gain the +2 bonus on the attack roll because it's a CMB check and it is not a bull rush but you can still use the charge action to move and trip, still taking the -2 penalty to AC of course.
The way I interpret the RAW you can use any combat maneuver but gain a bonus if that maneuver is a bull rush. So you don't gain the +2 bonus on the attack roll because it's a CMB check and it is not a bull rush but you can still use the charge action to move and trip, still taking the -2 penalty to AC of course.
This the way I interpret it too, the reason that bullrush is called out specifically is because it gets a bonus, not because it is the only one you can do.